The authors used data from nearly 9,000 children between the ages of 6 months and 8 years who had participated in TARGet Kids! Cohort between 2008 and 2019. TARGet Kids! is a primary care practice-based research network and cohort study in Toronto. Details about the diets these children ate were based on their parents, who answered whether their children were vegetarians (which included vegans) or non-vegetarians.
At the start of the study, 248 children (including 25 vegans) were vegetarians, and a further 338 children had become vegetarians some time later during the study. The children were followed for almost three years on average. There were no significant differences between vegetarian and nonvegetarian children with respect to standard BMI, height, serum ferritin levels, and vitamin D levels.
However, vegetarian children were nearly twice as likely to be underweight as non-vegetarian children.
Being underweight can be a sign of malnutrition and may indicate that one’s diet is not sufficient to support proper growth, according to the study’s news release. Specific details about dietary intake or quality and physical activity were not available to the authors, which could influence growth and nutrition.
Studies with longer follow-up periods and information on motivations for eating vegetarian, such as socioeconomic status, would also be helpful in understanding the links between children’s development and vegetarianism, the authors said.
The findings highlight “the need for careful dietary planning for underweight children when considering vegetarian diets,” Maguire said.
“Children who were underweight in both the vegetarian and nonvegetarian (groups) were similar and were younger and of Asian descent,” said Amy Kimberlain, a registered dietitian nutritionist and spokeswoman for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Kimberlain was not involved in the study.
“Certainly, ethnicity could have influenced weight determination,” said Dr. Maya Adam, a clinical assistant professor in the department of pediatrics at Stanford School of Medicine, who was not involved in the study.
Still, “it’s important that children’s growth be monitored, regardless of their diet,” Kimberlain said. “A vegetarian diet can be a healthy choice for all children. The key is to make sure it is well planned. With the help of a registered dietitian nutritionist, children’s growth can be monitored, as well as their nutrient needs to ensure to be consumed properly.
If you and your kids are experimenting with a vegetarian or vegan diet, it’s important to have alternative options “in case one day you like something and the next day you don’t,” Kimberlain said.
